Ma owes public an apology over Lin scandal: DPP

By Chris Wang / Staff reporter

The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday said President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) should hold a press conference and offer the public an explanation and apology for former Executive Yuan secretary-general Lin Yi-shih’s (林益世) alleged involvement in a corruption case.

“Ma should not evade his responsibility by simply saying he is sorry and regretful about Lin’s [alleged] corruption because he was the one who gave Lin all the power and promoted Lin to his current [former] status,” DPP spokesperson Wang Min-shen (王閔生) told a press conference.

“Lin’s case was the epitome, as well as just the tip of the iceberg, of the Chinese Nationalist Party’s [KMT] corrupt culture and complicity in bribery,” Wang said.

Lin was taken into custody on Monday after prosecutors said they had found proof that he had solicited and accepted bribes from a private company to help it secure contracts.

Lin’s alleged corrupt activities has become a credibility crisis for the Ma administration, Wang said, adding that the president should order a thorough investigation on his administration and restructure his political lineup.

DPP caucus covener Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) urged Ma to take up his political responsibility and reshuffle the Cabinet immediately, as the corruption scandal has dealt the last blow to his failed governance.

“The corruption case is now under investigation by judicial authorities and Ma should focus on how to save his administration from a governance crisis and the direction he is taking this country to,” Ker said.

DPP Legislator Lee Ying-yuan (李應元), who served as an Executive Yuan secretary-general in 2005 under the then-DPP administration, said Lin’s fall from grace showed “the more power you have, the more humble you should be.”

The Cabinet secretary-general serves as a coordinator who gathers information and sums up various opinions and present them to the premier for reference, Lee said.

“No secretary-general has abused his power as Lin did. I would say [the corruption case] is more [a reflection] of Lin’s character than a structural flaw,” he said.